Oxford *OR* Cambridge - why?

[MrsJAlfredPrufrock]

Why can't you apply to both? For some subjects neither is the best place in the country to go. You can apply to Warwick and the LSE, but not Oxford and Cambridge.

I don't want to apply by the way, nor do I have a son or daughter applying. It's just arbitrary nonsense isn't it?

Or is there a sensible reason for it?

Isn't it just to cut down on applications? If you're good enough for one you're likely to be good enough for the other, so I'd imagine most people would apply to both even if they preferred one, just so that if they didn't get in there they still had a shot at getting into the other.

Assuming most people would, by allowing only one each would effectively have cut the amount of applications they have to sift through by almost half.

Oh, I just guessed that, but wikipedia backs me up! "... and to ease the burden of interviewing so many applicants each year, high school students are not normally allowed to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same application cycle"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge%E2%80%93Oxford_rivalry

It used to be the case that they tested and interviewed at practically exactly the same time, so in practice it was not possible to go for both. I was more annoyed by Cambridge's arbitary age limit.

In the olden days (70s) you used to be able to apply to both.

Because neither wants to be anyone's second choice, I always assumed.

I think neither of them will consider you if they aren't your first choice, or that's what I remember from way back. So you can't put any other university above them if you want an interview.

There might be the occasional person who does apply to both and get 2 offers but I imagine they'd have to be really quite exceptional.

There are other uni's that will reject you if you have applied to either Oxford or Cambridge too as I found out to my cost many moons ago!

I think it used to be the case that if you didn't put certain universities as your number one choice you wouldn't be considered, but now ucas don't show other universities your order of preference so this can't happen any more.

I think you used yo be able to apply to both if you wrte applying to be an organ scholar.

You can't rank the Universities that you have applied for until after offers have been made, so that information is incorrect/out of date.

I've no experience of Oxford, but Cambridge put a lot of time and money into the selection process, and if application numbers doubled (assuming most would apply to both) I don't see how the current system would continue at either institution.

You can apply to both if it's your second undergrad degree, though there are only a small number that do this (as far as I know).

Northern - who?

Now the UCAS form scrambles the order of your choices so there is no first choice, second choice etc. You apply for five (four if it's undergraduate medicine) courses and they then either offer you a place of reject you.

And you should only be allowed to apply to EITHER Durham OR St Andrew's as they surely want to be the ONLY second choice.

Looking on the UCAS site, Oxford and Cambridge is the only undergrad pairing that is not permitted
www.ucas.com/students/applying/howtoapply/choices

In answer to the ranking thing - it's changed now so uni's don't know where they are in your choices, but I got an offer from Nottingham as well as cambridge. When I chose Cambridge, with Nottingham as insurance, tbey withdrew their offer...

It was many years ago so appreciate things may now have changed, back then it was Durham and KIngs

What age limit? I knew a 50 year old Undergrad at Oxford.

Oxford doesn't have an age limit, but for Cambridge you had to be 18 by the December that you matriculated. Hence young mathematicians headed to Oxford even if the Cambridge course might have suited better.

I went to Cambridge in 1998 and someone in my matriculating year was 15...

Cambridge will take younger students, but they prefer adult students (not least because of the difficulties in being in loco parentis of a 16 year old). They usully recommend people go and do something else for a year or two.

Ladymuck - that wasn't the case when I was at Cambridge in the 80s - I could have gone at 17, but wanted to take a year off so actually went at 18. But there was a mathematician in my year at school (also a year young) who was told not to take a year off, so went up at 17 - I think taking any time out from maths is seen as a very bad thing. But perhaps with all the new safeguarding stuff about under-18s it has changed.

Back in the early/mid 90s they let undergrads into Cambridge who were 15 going on 16 at matriculation.
In the three cases I knew well, it was a disaster in all three - though admittedly being the right age didn't stop a huge proportion of other students having similar mental health and other problems.

If I'd gone straight there I'd have been 17 (Nov birthday, moved up a year in infants) and I'm really glad I had a year out first.

In the late 80s you could go at 17, provided that you reached 18 by the start of the second term (which is still the requirement for some subjects eg medicine). The younger mathematicians at that stage were at Oxford.

Universities don't know which other institutions are being applied for at all any more. When I was applying, in the early 90s, I was told that Exeter and Bristol didn't like anyone applying to both and that you would be rejected from both if you did. Probably bullshit- I was told by a 2nd year student whilst at my Exeter interview

Oh a lower age limit! Actually although Oxford doesn't have a lower age limit, some colleges will reject you if you are too young (just privately). My Tutor had a 14 year old apply, and discussed it with us, we said reject them as so muh of college life took place in the bar or over alcohol (if you are 18 you can turn it down but it would seem wrong to expose an under 18 to that).
But I do know young students at several places who didn't do as well/or would strongly recommend not going young, at Uni as if they had gone on time. (Fortunately I don't think its something I'll have to worry about with mine.)